Fortinet FortiGate vs IPFire comparison

Fortinet and IPFire Project are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while IPFire Project is ranked #35 with an average rating of 8.0. Fortinet holds a 18.7% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to IPFire Project’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IPFire Project users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 580 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

67,415 Views
53,258 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IPFire

Read 2 IPFire reviews

3,383 Views
3,349 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

IPFire

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Fortinet FortiGate and IPFire are competing network security solutions. Fortinet FortiGate holds the upper hand in features, while IPFire performs better in ease of deployment.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate offers advanced threat protection, intrusion prevention, and web filtering. It supports SD-WAN and provides a comprehensive security fabric. IPFire includes essential firewall capabilities, support for virtual private networks, and intrusion detection and prevention systems, emphasizing open-source flexibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate integrates smoothly into existing networks with detailed documentation and 24/7 support. IPFire offers a simplified deployment with a focus on community-driven support and easy configuration.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate involves a higher initial setup cost due to its enterprise-level features, offering a significant ROI for high-level security needs. IPFire, being open-source, presents a lower cost of entry, beneficial for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. IPFire Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. IPFire

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Ranking in Firewalls

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

580

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)

IPFire

Ranking in Firewalls

35th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.7%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IPFire is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.7%
IPFire	1.9%
Other	79.4%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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DanielS

Head Competence Team IT at Duktig Brand

Blocking access from specific countries and ensuring robust security have been effortlessly achieved

I use IPFire to protect my home The best feature of IPFire is the location block functionality. It allows me to block certain countries from accessing my site. Additionally, it is a solution that is available for free, which is perfect. The graphical interface could be much better. I have…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution has a user-friendly interface."

"Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto."

"Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks."

"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."

"I like the solution's stability."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG's content is its most valuable feature."

"I would recommend using Fortinet FortiGate because of its usability."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."

"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can be expensive for some customers."

"The solution’s stability could be improved."

"The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time."

"We would like to have the ability to disable some of the security functionalities."

"FortiManager has not been my favorite. I don't use it and cannot say I really care for FortiManager for managing the firewalls."

"I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

"The advanced models are expensive."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The graphical interface could be much better."

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."

"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."

"Compared to Palo Alto, which we have used in the past, pricing and licensing are okay."

"The price is relatively expensive compared to other solutions which are providing similar features."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."

"If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly."

"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."

"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

21%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...

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What needs improvement with IPFire?

The graphical interface could be much better.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IPFire?

I use IPFire ( /products/ipfire-reviews ) to protect my home.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

Sometimes configuring IPFire is challenging. Overall, I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs IPFire

Compared 77% of the time

Smoothwall Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs IPFire

Compared 4% of the time

Untangle NG Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 3% of the time

Sophos XGS vs IPFire

Compared 2% of the time

More IPFire Competitors

Product Reports

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Fortinet FortiGate

December 2025

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Firewalls

December 2025

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Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

IPFire enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It provides a secure firewall, secure remote access, and customizable options. Users praise its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability for network monitoring and traffic shaping. Its valuable features include efficient firewall capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and reliable network performance.

IPFire Project

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. IPFire

December 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate vs. IPFire

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